We begin our coastal science news
round-up with a story from National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)'s Climate.gov: In case you missed it in late
December, make like Santa and catch up on NOAA's 2015 Arctic Report Card. (You know he's interested!) http://bitly.com/ArcticReportCard2015.

In News from NOAA's New York Sea Grant ...

(1) Take a look back at the trending coastal science stories of 2015 from NOAA and all its offices (which include Sea Grant). Also in the blog post, www.nyseagrant.org/blog/13, are all the ways you can stay connected with our program throughout the year.

(2) With winter upon us, we offer some Weather-Ready Nation reminders from NOAA and Sea Grant: http://ow.ly/WbyT8.

(7) There are plenty New York Sea Grant and Long Island Sound Study-sponsored volunteer opportunities around Long Island Sound coming up in 2016: http://ow.ly/VLxK6

Top 10 Trending News Stories from NOAA ...

(1) CLIMATE >>> 2015 closed with a record warm December for the Lower 48, capping off the country's second-warmest year in the historical record. In 2015, every U.S. state was warmer than the 20th-century average. http://1.usa.gov/1S6bjmJ.

(2) CLIMATE >>> While the year remains one of the top warmest on record for the contiguous U.S., not all places across the country had their warmest year in 2015. Check out NOAA's maps to see when your area had its warmest year on record: http://1.usa.gov/1UwLmKQ ?#‎StateOfClimate?

(3) CLIMATE >>> In 2015, the nation also experienced 10 weather and climate disaster events each with losses exceeding $1 billion. These events included a drought, 2 floods, 5 severe storms, a wildfire event and a winter storm. Tragically, these events resulted in the deaths of 155 people. See NOAA's 2015 Annual U.S. Climate Report: http://1.usa.gov/1PKdppg ?#‎BillionDollarDisasters?

(4) CLIMATE >>> According to the 2015 Annual U.S. Climate Report (http://1.usa.gov/1PKdppg), the contiguous U.S. experienced its 2nd warmest year and warmest December on record. Records date back to 1895.

(5) DROUGHT >>> According to NOAA Climate's January 5, 2016, U.S. Drought Monitor (http://1.usa.gov/1JZSPNa), moderate to exceptional drought covers 18.4% of the contiguous United States, a slight decrease from last week’s 18.7%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) also decreased from 6.3% last week to 5.2%. ?#‎DroughtMonitor?

(6) IN PHOTOS >>> In case you missed it in late December 2015, NOAA offers a look at some of the most popular photos posted by the org in 2015: http://ow.ly/WNHNG. More Insta-pics at www.instagram.com/noaa.

(7) CLIMATE >>> According to the 2015 Annual U.S. Climate Report (http://1.usa.gov/1PKdppg), the contiguous U.S. experienced its second warmest year and warmest December on record.

(9) CLIMATE >>> During January–November 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.57°F (0.87°C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest for January–November in the 1880–2015 record, surpassing the previous record set last year by 0.25°F (0.14°C). See more in the November 2015 Global Climate Report: http://1.usa.gov/1ZaiAD6

(10) CLIMATE >>> According to the November 2015 Global Climate Report (http://1.usa.gov/1ZaiAD6), the globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for November 2015 was the highest for November since record keeping began in 1880. It marked the seventh consecutive month in which the monthly global temperature record has been broken.